Casino developer Genting advised on building Thruway exit

Wednesday

Jun 18, 2014 at 2:00 AM

GOSHEN — At the request of Genting Americas, the Orange County Transportation Council on Tuesday explained some of the hoops that the gaming behemoth will have to jump through to build a new Thruway exit to support its proposed casino in Tuxedo.

Judy Rife

GOSHEN — At the request of Genting Americas, the Orange County Transportation Council on Tuesday explained some of the hoops that the gaming behemoth will have to jump through to build a new Thruway exit to support its proposed casino in Tuxedo.

"We are basically fact-finding," said Larry Pesesky, senior vice president of transportation planning for the Louis Berger Group, a Genting consultant. "Obviously, neither the casino nor the interchange will go forward without all the proper approvals in place."

Genting representatives made an unannounced appearance at the council's technical committee meeting last month to ask for guidance.

Since then, they have held regular conference calls with the New York State Thruway Authority and Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to learn what exactly is involved in building an exit first proposed decades ago to serve a housing development in Sterling Forest and shelved when no homes materialized.

Genting considers the exit, known as 15B, as the gateway to its site two miles from the Thruway and is prepared to build it at its own expense.

Pesesky, who participated in Tuesday's meeting by telephone, said Genting, like all the other companies vying for one of the four casino projects the state will select this fall, has to supply a detailed list of the approvals and permits it will need, as well as a likely time frame for securing them. The deadline for filing applications is June 30.

Questioned at length by Wallkill Town Supervisor Dan Depew, Pesesky and Patrick Thompson, an engineer with the Thruway Authority, emphasized that no decisions have been made about the exact location of the exit.

The men said the construction is likely to have some impact on wetlands and parkland and, as a result, multiple design concepts were being discussed. Pesesky said the Palisades Interstate Park Commission has already been approached about its willingness to part with any property.

Thompson said the Thruway Authority has made no decision about whether the exit would or would not have tolls. He said the impact on traffic volume and revenue at other exits will have to be studied, as will the costs of maintaining 15B into the future.

Since no federal money will be used, the council's role will be limited to placing the exit, if it proceeds, on the county's transportation improvement plan and determining if emissions associated with it meet federal air-quality standards.